Our prices are calculated using an average price formula based on available trading pairs across multiple exchanges. We also have algorithms to detect and exclude anomalous tickers from our prices. Play-to-earn (P2E) games, also known as GameFi, has emerged as an extremely popular category in the crypto space. It combines non-fungible tokens (NFT), in-game crypto tokens, decentralized finance (DeFi) elements and sometimes even metaverse applications. Players have an opportunity to generate revenue by giving their time (and sometimes capital) and playing these games.
How are cryptocurrency transactions validated?
Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Westrise Corebit Systems Inc.Copyright © 2025, American Bankers Association. SEC fillings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2025 TradingView, Inc. In short, Ethereum is a massive digital ecosystem through which digital information and computer applications can be transported, stored, and even created.
Wallets
- It’s only when you pair current prices with historical data, statistics, news, and more that you get a full picture of a coin’s performance.
- The greatest advantage of cryptocurrencies is that their transactions are stored on ‘immutable’ blockchains.
- There are lots of computers across the globe working to verify every single transaction.
- Yes, you can access live global cryptocurrency market data via the CoinMarketCap API, which provides real-time metrics like total market capitalization, Bitcoin dominance, and 24-hour trading volume.
Units of cryptocurrency are created through a process called mining, which involves using computer power to solve complicated mathematical problems that generate coins. Users can also buy the currencies from brokers, then store and spend them using cryptographic wallets. One key way is through what’s called mining, to use a metaphor related to the old monetary system based on gold or silver. Powerful computers, often known as miners, perform calculations and process transactions on the ledger. By doing so, they earn a unit of the currency, or at least a part of a unit. It requires a lot of expensive processing power and often a lot of electricity to perform these calculations.
Normally, the graph starts at the launch of the asset, but it is possible to select specific to and from dates to customize the chart to your own needs. These charts and their information are free to visitors of our website. The most experienced and professional traders often choose to use the best crypto API on the market. Our API enables millions of calls to track current prices and to also investigate historic prices and is used by some of the largest crypto exchanges and financial institutions in the world. CoinMarketCap also provides data about the most successful traders for you to monitor. We also provide data about the latest trending cryptos and trending DEX pairs.
What is crypto?
After miners (or validators for PoS networks) are given their reward, these parties can sell their coins on popular cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase. As crypto traders and investors ourselves, we understand the hassle of browsing multiple websites and exchanges to find reliable information and market data for a coin. Here at CoinMarketCap, we work very hard to ensure that all the relevant and up-to-date information about cryptocurrencies, coins and tokens can be located in one easily discoverable place. From the very first day, the goal was for the site to be the number one location online for crypto market data, and we work hard to empower our users with our unbiased and accurate information. Cryptocurrency market capitalization (or market cap) represents the total value of a cryptocurrency in circulation.
Therefore, even if one of the computers go offline, it wouldn’t be as detrimental as having a single server-based database go offline as can be the case in traditional banking systems. Cryptocurrency is a relatively new type of money that operates in a completely different way than the traditional currency we all use every day. The most basic difference is that it’s exclusively a virtual currency, meaning there are no physical cryptocurrency coins or notes you can keep in your back pocket. Back then, the price of Bitcoin stood at around $720, according to CoinGecko. While there are different kinds of wallets, each has its benefits, technical requirements, and security. As with exchanges, you should investigate your storage choices before investing.
Currency is valuable only if consumers can rely on it to retain purchasing power. This problem is exactly why modern countries have moved away from the gold standard and to fiat currency. Free from the gold standard, central banks can increase money flowing through the economy in tough times, even if consumers and businesses hoard it, preventing the economy from seizing up. One of the most significant negatives to cryptocurrency is that it is “mined” by computers. Mining isn’t free, of course, and requires substantial amounts of energy to create a coin. While miners consume and pay for energy to run their rigs, it also creates significant pollution and waste.